[Malta] ‘I’ve been fighting for a human right for seven years’
Every weekend, when Joanne Cassar gets ready to go out with her friends, she prepares herself to be stared at, insulted and pushed around by complete strangers.
In the past the 31-year-old, who underwent gender reassignment surgery nine years ago, has even been beaten up because of who she is. The latest violent episode was three years ago when she was at a carnival party in Gozo.

[Russia] Russia moves to enact anti-gay law to protect minors from Western ‘homosexual propaganda’
Kissing his boyfriend during a protest in front of Russia’s parliament earned Pavel Samburov 30 hours of detention and the equivalent of a $16 fine on a charge of “hooliganism.” But if a bill that comes up for a first vote later this month becomes law, such a public kiss could be defined as illegal “homosexual propaganda” and bring a fine of up to $16,000.

[MI, USA] EMU alum shares transgender journey
“She stands in the quiet darkness, this troubled woman bowed by weariness and pain like an autumn flower in the frozen rain, like a wind-blown autumn flower that never lifts its head again.”